Susan Mutter: Song of Survival

What happens when a 4-year-old gets cancer?  We discover real superheroes wear hospital gowns, not capes!  Meyer Mixdorf was diagnosed with medulloblastoma, a form of brain cancer, in 2020.  Song of Survival was written to reflect some of what he and his family went through in his fight to survive.           

The five movements are as follows:

Meyer

This depicts Meyer feeling well, being outside, playing with his friends, catching frogs, etc.  But toward the end you can hear his headaches are beginning.

Diagnosis - Prayer

Here, Cory is reacting to the devastating news that Meyer has cancer, and will need surgery.  Anguished, he turns to God for help, “Lord please heal my son!”

Surgery

Here, I envision Cory in the waiting room, as the surgery is happening.  Doctors removed a tumor the size of a small orange from the base of Meyer’s brain.  We hear a chorale at one point, as Cory again looks to God for aid and for peace.

Thiotepa

This was one of the many chemotherapy drugs given to Meyer during his multi-week visits to the hospital in Kansas City.  This particular chemo was excreted through his skin, thus requiring him to take uncomfortable baths every six hours, around the clock. Here, I envision his father sitting on the edge of his hospital bed, yearning for Meyer to be free from it all, and to be able to go outside and play.

Coming Home!

This depicts the joy upon Meyer’s release from the hospital and his return to family and friends, and his home in Arkansas.  Toward the end, the “Lord please heal my son!” theme returns, in the trombone, but then the lack of tonality in the piano portrays the uncertainty of the future for Meyer.

- Susan Mutter, 2021